A Series of Awkward Adventures
by Saiyanpride248
Summary: A series of one-shots based on my fic called War Machine. Mainly set in G1.
1. Lunar-Song

**I'm baaaaaaaaaack =D! Hope you guys didn't miss me too much (yeah right) XD! So yeah, this is the series of one-shots that will revolve around the characters from _War Machine_, [with a few new arrivals... ;)]. Suggestions will still be welcomed, but I have quite a long list already so please don't think I haven't noted down your idea if it's not one of the first ones I upload, they're all on a fancy list on my phone, waiting to be written XD. Also, I've just started quite an important school year, so updates may be less frequent than the War Machine chapters were (yes, because they were _very_ frequent, weren't they? ^^;). Well, I only have one more thing to add before you start reading my latest abomination, and that is... Character ages! (how _exciting_ =D!) This one-shot has skipped quite far into the future of the characters we all know and (hopefully) love, so here's an age-list (in human years, because it's easier):**

**Twilight: Was 35 at the end of War Machine, is now 46.**

**Cyclonus: ****Was 37 at the end of War Machine, is now 48.**

******Ravenstrike:**** Was 5 at the end of War Machine, is now 16.**

**********Blizzard:**** Was 40 at the end of War Machine, is now 51.**

**************Ultra Magnus:**** Was 38 at the end of War Machine, is now 49.**

**Starlight: Was 13 (yeah, I'm serious =P) at the end of War Machine, is now 24 (still serious...).**

**And finally, Phantom was 77 ****at the end of War Machine, and is now 88.**

**11 year time skip for the win! Right, well, I think that's all from me so I hope you enjoy the first one-shot (which isn't actually a one-shot, but a three-shot, yes, I know, I'm already breaking the rules, but oh well XD)!**

**Oh, and if anyone's reading this without having read War Machine first, well, first off, hello =)! And secondly, as you may have guessed, you might want to go and read War Machine before reading this, as you won't really know what's happening if you don't. Well, off we go then!**

* * *

"Are you sure about this, love?" Twilight rolled her optics for what must have been the millionth time that day.

"Cyclonus, if you ask me that question again, I swear to Primus I will knock you out and drag you back home. If I wasn't sure, _why_ would I have gone through the effort of threatening to knock you out and drag you_ here_?" He narrowed his optics. They had come out to a small town on Cybertron at Ravenstrike's request, he wanted to introduce them to someone. They were currently sat outside a small bar, waiting for their son to meet them.

"But she used to be an _Autobot_!" The only form of retaliation Twilight could think of was to repeat his words in a childish voice. So that's what she did.

"_Used to_ being the key words there, dear." He scowled at her, shoving her lightly.

"Oh, shut up. You were on my side not long ago." Twilight folded her arms across her chest-plates, fighting the urge to roll her optics yet again.

"Listen, it doesn't matter if she was an Autobot, okay? The fact is that our son has taken a liking to her, and _you_ need to grow up." Cyclonus sighed.

"Fine. But don't expect me to play nice if she's out of order." Twilight scoffed.

"_Please_, why would I even _expect_ that? It's hard enough for you to be nice at all." He was about to retort when they heard footsteps coming their way. Ravenstrike came around the corner first, and then he led a white femme over to the table his creators were sat at.

She was quite pretty, a very dainty, skinny thing. She looked normal apart from the strange... _Hair-_like material that sprouted from her head and fell to her shoulders.

"Mom, Dad, this is Lunar-Song. Lunar-Song, these are my creators, Twilight, and Cyclonus." The dainty little femme shook hands with the two of them, quietly uttering a polite 'Pleasure to meet you, sir, madam'. Twilight smiled, the poor femme was nervous. Which, if she was honest, didn't surprise her in the slightest, considering her and her sparkmate were well known amongst the Autobots for all the wrong reasons.

"It's lovely to meet you, Lunar-Song. Please, sit down." Lunar-Song did as Twilight suggested, Ravenstrike following suit, and the four of them sat there in complete silence for quite some time.

"So, Lunar-Song... Why don't you tell us a little about yourself?"

_~Oh, **smooth** Mom, **real** smooth.~_ Ravenstrike cringed.

_**~What? What **else** am I supposed to say?!~**_

"You can just call me Lunar, if it's easier." The femme mumbled. Twilight nodded, still smiling.

"Alright then, Lunar it is." Lunar-Song seemed to be desperately trying to avoid eye contact with the two Decepticons as she began to speak.

"There isn't really anything interesting about me that I can tell you... I grew up in that orphanage run by Autobots just at the end of this road." Cyclonus sighed quietly.

_~Let me guess, her parents were murdered by Decepticons. I **knew** this was going to happen.~_

_**~Oh, did you now? Because last time I checked, you weren't psychic, now shut **up**!~**_ Ravenstrike rolled his crimson optics in embarrassment, and refrained from facepalming, though it took every ounce of his will to do so. Deciding he should at least make an _attempt_ to save the conversation, he spoke up.

"Lunar's just gotten her degree, haven't you, Lunar?" The white femme nodded, still staring at the edge of the table. Twilight sighed, the poor thing really was afraid. Still, she did her best to try and convince her that she wasn't some sort of energy vampire.

* * *

After a while, the conversation seemed to pick up a little bit, and Lunar-Song seemed to become at least a little less timid. After a bunch of threats and an occasional subtle kick under the table from Twilight, Cyclonus finally started to participate in the conversation as well.

Things seemed to be going well then, until a familiar spiral-shaped spaceship flew overhead, and then circled around in the sky before coming to an abrupt landing in the middle of the town. The townspeople were in hysteria as Sharkticons and Allicons started pouring out of the spaceship, destroying a row of shops in a matter of minutes.

"_Quintessons_?!" Cyclonus muttered incredulously, bolting upright. Twilight did the same, peering at the ship.

"It's definitely of Quintesson origin, but what would the Quints want with this place?" Ravenstrike was off to the side, trying - and not quite succeeding - to calm Lunar-Song down.

"We need to move inside, before they spot us." Cyclonus would usually have been all for attacking the dumb brutes head on, but there were too many of them, and from what they knew about the femme, Lunar-Song knew next to nothing about battle. Twilight nodded in agreement to his statement, rushing over to the two teenage bots. She gently grabbed Lunar's shoulders and turned the femme to face her.

"Lunar, listen to me. You need to stay calm, alright? I know that sounds impossible, but just try, for me, okay?" The femme nodded frantically, attempting to still her rattling frame. The group of four rushed into the quaint café, heading to the kitchen in the back. Once they were there, Lunar-Song backed up into a corner, sliding down to the floor and curling up into a ball, staring into space.

Ravenstrike started to walk towards her, but Twilight caught his shoulder, shaking her head at him. He frowned at her, but listened to her unspoken order. The ex-mercenary knelt down beside the young femme, once again laying her hands on her shoulders.

"Lunar, remember what I said. Calm."

"S-Sorry." The femme muttered, sitting up straighter, still shaking. Twilight smiled kindly.

"There we go. Now, do you know what they could be after?" Ravenstrike looked appalled.

"Mom, that's ridiculous, why would she-"

"_Quiet_, Raven." Lunar seemed shocked at first, but then calmed down slightly and shook her head.

"I have no idea, I don't know if there's anything valuable they would want."

"Alright, let's say there was, where would it most likely be hidden?" Lunar thought for a while, and started to panic when she couldn't think.

"I don't know! I'm so sorry, I can't think of anywhere! I-"

"It's _alright_, Lunar, you're doing really well, okay? You're doing great. Just give me a moment, alright?" The teenager nodded. Twilight walked over to her son, patting him on the shoulder.

"Try and comfort her while I talk to your father." He nodded, though he looked slightly worried himself. His mother, ever the analyst, of course, noticed.

"Nothing's going to happen to her, you know that, right?" He nodded again, and left to be by Lunar's side. Cyclonus was watching them when Twilight made it to him.

"Well, even if Lunar wasn't much help, I don't think there's anything of value hidden in this town. Sure, it's the last place anyone would look, but even so..." Cyclonus was still staring off into space as she finished.

"What if it's not _about_ something of value?" He looked her in the optics then, and she frowned, lost in thought. When she didn't put two and two together, he carried on.

"What if this is about _revenge_?"_ Now_ she seemed to put two and two together.

"Cyclonus, that was _years_ ago."

"Quintessons tend to hold grudges for quite some time. They have very good memories. Don't you think that ship looked even the_ slightest_ bit familiar?"

"_All_ Quintesson ships look like that, Cyclonus."

"Yes, but not all of them carry Allicons as well as Sharkticons."

"_Yes_, and I'm pretty sure that Quint isn't the _only_ one who does."

"Face it, love. They're here for us."

"You can't possibly know that."

"Well what _else_ are they here for then?" He practically yelled, scowling at her.

"Don't get mad at me, Cyclonus!"

"I told you I should have killed that fleshling while I had the chance!"

"And you very well could have! You don't take orders from me, Cyclonus! You didn't have to listen to me!" She threw her hands up in the air.

"Ugh, we don't have time for this!" She hissed, stalking back over to Lunar and Raven. He glared daggers at her back, watching as she started up conversation with the other femme once more.

* * *

Ravenstrike cautiously made his way over to his father as Twilight came back over to speak with Lunar.

"...You alright, Dad?"

"I'm _fine_, son." The teenage 'Con decided not to push any further, he knew when to stop. Twilight was kneeling next to Lunar-Song again, the femme had calmed down a lot now and was easier to talk to.

"Despite it being _highly_ unlikely, Cyclonus _could_ be right. We can't rule out the possibility that they're here for us. But if they are, how did they find us?..."

"W-Why would they be here for _you_?" Twilight raised an optic ridge with a slight smile.

"What, Raven never told you about the time the three of us along with Ultra Magnus and a human got captured by a Quintesson scientist? I'm surprised." Lunar-Song gasped, looking up to Ravenstrike who was scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

"Is... Is that true?" Cringing, the flier nodded. Twilight giggled, enjoying the moment of light-hearted banter. The moment was cut short, however, as they heard an almighty crash from outside. Twilight quickly stood, pulling Lunar-Song up with her.

"Lunar, is there anywhere we can hide where there's no chance of them finding us? We're outnumbered, we can't win this on our own." Cyclonus raised an optic ridge in confusion, but he soon caught onto her train of thought.

"You can't be _serious,_ Twilight!" Narrowing her optics, she glared at her sparkmate.

"The Decepticons are too far away to get here in time, Cyclonus, what else are we going to do?! If you have a better plan, I'd_ love_ to hear it!" Ravenstrike's optic started twitching in annoyance. If there was anything he'd learnt from his time with his creators, it was that they hardly ever argued, but when they _did_...

"Alright, that's _enough_! Stop arguing like sparklings!" He yelled, stunning the two of them into silence.

"If you two keep yelling, you'll lead them right to us!" They both sighed, they didn't have to will to argue anymore. Twilight turned back to Lunar-Song wearily.

"Well, Lunar? Is there anywhere?"

"...There's an old tale of a network of tunnels that spreads out all over the town. But I'm not sure if they actually exist... Other than that... There's nowhere..." Twilight sighed.

_'Great, underground tunnels. Not exactly easy to fight Sharkticons in, but it's the only chance we've got at the minute.'_

"Well, it's our best bet." Cyclonus rolled his optics.

"Right, and how do we actually _get_ to these tunnels? Are we just going to get on our knees and start digging?" Twilight sighed, holding back any and all forms of retaliation. Lunar-Song was quick to speak up, she didn't want the two of them to start bickering again.

"The passage into the tunnels is said to be hidden somewhere in the orphanage." Twilight nodded.

"Then that's where we go." Cyclonus frowned.

"And if these tunnels don't exist? We'll be cornered in the orphanage. We'll have made it easy for them." Twilight sighed, contacting him through their bond.

_**~I don't like the thought of running and hiding any more than you do, but we need to wait it out for a while. Lunar-Song can't fight, we need to protect her.~**_

_~In case you've forgotten, protecting is the job of an Autobot! I thought you were going to call them, I don't see your precious 'brother' anywhere!~_

**_~And in case _**_you've_**_ forgotten, the war is over! The factions are practically non-existent now! What is _**_with_**_ you today?! Grow up, Cyclonus!~_**

_~You're being **ridiculous**, Twilight! Since when did you** ever** believe in old folk tales and legends?! **You're** the one that needs to grow up!~_

_**~For frag's sake Cyclonus I give up! I've had enough of this!~**_ And with that she withdrew from their bond, sealing it off.

"Ravenstrike, get Lunar-Song to the orphanage. Try and find this tunnel network. Cyclonus, do whatever the frag you want, I don't care anymore." Her son was hesitant to go on without them.

"What about you, Mom?"

"I'll be right behind you, I have a call to make first."

* * *

**And, in the true style of Sai-doesn't-care-that-everything's-escalating-too- quickly,-there-must-be-more-Sharkticons!, I jumped straight into the action without any warning! Not sure if that escalated a little too quickly, but mehh, I quite like how it turned out. As always, reviews are welcomed, flames will be ignored. Hope you enjoyed, I should have parts two and three up soon!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers or any of the characters I use in this story except for Twilight, Ravenstrike and Lunar-Song. (I also own Blizzard, Starlight and Phantom.)**

**P.S. - This one-shot was thought up by me, but_ Corevil_ did ask if I could have Ravenstrike find a femme, so you can kind of thank him for this too.**


	2. Lunar-Song II

**Hey guys! So yeah, this is part two of_ Lunar-Song_! Warning you now, there's a lot of fantasy-ish, puzzle-y, Professor Layton style crap going on in this chapter, and most of it makes no sense! About an average chapter for me, then XD. Thank you to _TheSuperiorVision_ and _Corevil_ for reviewing, and thanks to _Corevil_ and _TheLoveDov_ for following the series! I think that's about it from me, so, I hope you enjoy the chapter! =D**

* * *

_**'Magnus? Magnus, are you there?'**_

_'Twilight? What is it?'_

**_'I need back-up, and fast! You wouldn't mind helping out your little sister would you?'_**

_'Where are you? What's going on?'_

**_'I'm sending you my co-ordinates as we speak, I'm not really sure what's going on. One minute, I'm being introduced to my son's girlfriend, the next, I'm running from hordes of Quintesson lackies!'_**

_'I've received the co-ordinates, I'm assembling a team now! Hang in there, Twilight!'_ The femme sighed.

_'I'm doing the best I can, Brother.'_

* * *

It didn't take long for Ravenstrike and Lunar-Song to arrive at the orphanage. They had only been there for a few minutes when Twilight burst through the doors, Cyclonus close behind, having followed, albeit reluctantly.

"Are you two alright?" His mother rushed to their side, and just in time, too, as a pair of Allicons smashed right through the wall. They would have crushed Lunar-Song had Twilight not been there to push her out of the way. Unsheathing her claw-blades, the femme brought one of the Allicons down with no trouble at all, it hardly put up a fight.

But more were quick to arrive, and soon Twilight and Cyclonus were pitted against around thirty of the beasts, trying to hold their own as best they could as Raven and Lunar searched for the entrance to the tunnels.

The two teenage bots had fled to a remote section of the orphanage, they were pacing inside a classroom of some sort.

"_Think_, Lunar. Recite the legend again. Is there _anything_ we could have missed?" Ravenstrike was on edge now, he didn't like the thought of his creators fighting those Allicons alone. Sure, they were some of the best - Pit, probably_ the_ best - fighters he knew, but they were outnumbered by a whole lot. Shaking his head, he refused to think about it.

"I-I don't know, Raven, there isn't anything that-"

"There has to be _something_, Primus-dammit!" He yelled, slamming his fists against one of the many desks that littered the room. Lunar-Song flinched, becoming wary. She'd never seen him like this before. Looking up with apologetic optics, Ravenstrike made his way over to her.

"I'm sorry, Lunar, I didn't mean to yell."

"I know, I-It's fine." She mumbled. Sighing, Raven looked away down the hall, in the direction of his creators.

"Raven, come look at this, quickly!" Lunar-Song motioned with her hand for him to join her by an old monitor in the corner of the room.

"No offense, Lunar, but... _How_ exactly can this help?" Lunar-Song huffed to herself, tinkering around with the monitor and ignoring his doubtful questions. If she could just... _There_! That was it!

With a whirr and a few clanks that made the two cringe, the board at the front of the classroom turned on. Dashing from the monitor, stopping only to pick up a stylus, Lunar-Song hastily scribbled down the verses of the legend onto the board.

"_Lunar_! Would you _stop_ for a second and _explain_ the brainwave you just had?" Huffing again, she didn't turn to face him until she'd finished writing up the legend.

"If I can_ see_ the words, it may be easier to understand a hidden meaning behind them." Raven shrugged, this really wasn't his sort of thing.

"Trust me, this is helpful. Take it from somebody who just got a degree in Communications and Languages." Chuckling, he nodded.

"Go on then, do your thing."

* * *

"Raven, I think I've found it!" The flier had been pacing around the classroom, giving Lunar-Song the space she needed to think. He bolted up to the screen, to see that she had written a completely new verse underneath the legend. It read:

_'Begin from the doors, on the very top floor. A route shall awaken, when the statue is shaken. Made of stars that shine bright, but only ones bathed in blue light. Tread carefully around the third bend, or you will meet an unpleasant end.'_ Ravenstrike stared, optics wide.

"How did you find that? Never mind, don't answer, I'll only get confused. Good job, Lunar!" He picked her up and spun her around, kissing her quickly on the cheek. She blushed, looking down at the floor.

"Thanks, Raven."

"Right, we better erase this, just in case. You memorised it?" She stood in silence for a moment, optics scanning the words as she concentrated. After a moment, she nodded.

"Yeah, I've got it. You can get rid of it now." He did just that, and then took her hand, looking into her dark blue optics.

"You ready to go?" She nodded, a look of determination set on her face-plates.

* * *

"Dammit Magnus where the frag are you?" Twilight growled under her breath, kicking away an Allicon as she tried to get a strong enough hold on another to snap its neck. Cyclonus wasn't too far away from her, he was also getting swarmed by the creatures.

Driving one set of claw blades through an Allicon's skull, she rammed the other into another one's chest-plating. The armour was thick, thicker than a Sharkticon's. Her claw-blades got lodged inside it's many layers, and as the Allicon recoiled it pulled her back with it.

"Slag!" She yelled as it saw what a predicament she was in, and used it to his advantage, slamming her against the wall repeatedly.

"Hey, Cyclonus? I know you're busy but **_*clang!*_** a little _***clang!***_ help **_*clang!*_ **would be nice!" He looked over to her, noticing the situation and swiftly bringing the Allicon down with a few gunshots. Twilight just had time to tug her claw blades free before they were surrounded again. They were stuck, back to back, in the middle of a circle of Allicons - and, they realised belatedly, a few Sharkticons.

"Oh, come on kids, find that entrance..."

* * *

Meanwhile, Ravenstrike and Lunar-Song had made it to the double doors at the top of the staircase that spiraled throughout the whole orphanage. They were about to enter the corridor on the top floor. As they did, they saw a statue on the far side of the corridor. It was a statue of a mech, the mech who had founded the orphanage, the two guessed.

They cautiously walked up to it, studying it. The mech had a pensive look on his face-plates, and the writing on the plaque at the bottom was written in Cybertronian. Lunar-Song was more than happy to translate, since Ravenstrike could only speak the language and not read or write it.

"It's hard to tell what it says exactly, because it's written in an old form of Cybertronian that I've only studied once or twice, but I'll give it a shot..." She said quietly, brushing a hand over the plaque before beginning to read:

"I'm sorry, I can't read it all, the only part I can make out is: Rest in peace, and may you find your way to the Well of All Sparks, _." Lunar-Song frowned.

"Raven, the mech's name has been scratched out, look." The young mech noticed that she was right.

"How strange... Well, anyway, I assume this is the statue that we have to shake?" Lunar nodded, though a little reluctantly.

"You should do it, I don't have the strength for it. Just, please, try not to break it." He rolled his optics.

"I won't, I promise." Widening his stance, Ravenstrike started to push the statue one way, and then the other. As his pushes got harder and more frequent, Lunar-Song noticed that the floor had started to glow. One by one, some of the square tiles started to reveal glowing stars, all the same colour, a light, iridescent blue.

"Raven, I think you can stop now..." He nodded, gently setting the statue back down. When he took another look at it, he jumped slightly, noticing that the optics had started to glow the same shade of blue as the stars in the floor.

"Well," he started, "shall we continue?" Lunar-Song nodded, stepping on the first of the stars.

"Just remember to keep to the blue stars, and watch out for the third bend." Ravenstrike nodded.

"Got it." They began walking down the glowing path to the left of the statue. "Hey, Lunar?"

"What?"

"Why did it say to keep to the blue stars, when all the stars are blue anyway? The path seems pretty clear to me." Before she could answer, they rounded a bend, and the sight they saw answered for her.

"Uhh, maybe because of that?" The floor tiles were covered in stars now, not a single one left out. Orange stars, yellow stars, and the occasional red, green and white stars all jumbled together, as well as the blue ones that still showed the route. The path still went in a single direction, but the other stars made it harder to see because it had such a pale glow compared to the stars around it.

"Alright, just go slowly, one step at a time..." Lunar muttered to herself, trying not to let her nerves get the better of her. She was still trying to get over the fact that she had lived in this orphanage for most of her life, and the town's only secret had been hiding under her nose the whole time.

They turned another corner, and Ravenstrike tripped.

"Oh slag!"

"Raven!" Lunar-Song just managed to grab him by the audio and yank him back onto the path before he stepped on any of the other stars. His heel scraped against the floor as she did so though, and the two ducked as arrows whizzed over their heads. Before they had time to react, the floor started to crumble all around the path, before the path itself finally started to break away.

"Hurry, Lunar!" Raven yelled, gently pushing her forward. The two broke out into a run, not daring to look back as the floor fell away the second their feet left it.

"I thought we had to be careful as we turned round the third bend! That was only the second!" Lunar-Song shook her head, her 'hair' flying around her face.

"It was the second turn from where the path started, but to get to the path we had to turn left from the statue! _That's_ where we were supposed to start counting the turns!"

"Why the frag didn't you tell me?" The white femme rolled her optics skyward.

"Because I didn't think you were going to be a clumsy aft and trip over your own feet!" He had no response for that. Even if he did have, he wouldn't have said it anyway, as a large set of double doors came into their sights. Not bothering to slow down, the two teenagers slammed into the ornate doors, bursting into whatever room lay on the other side.

They made it to the stable flooring just as the last of the star-path fell into the uninviting abyss below. They'd been running so fast that they collided with each-other as soon as they tried to stop, collapsing into an exhausted heap on the - very well-polished - red-tiled floor.

"Raven..." Lunar-Song muttered, voice muffled.

"Uhh, yeah?"

"Could you please get off me?"

"O-Oh! Oh right, yeah, sure." He hurriedly picked himself up, giving her a helping hand. They looked at each-other, then back through the doors that they had just slammed into, then back at each-other.

"High-fragging-_five_!" Raven yelled, whooping in triumph. Lunar-Song complied, giggling quietly.

"Congratulations, you two. You figured out the riddle." They both yelped in surprise as they turned to face an old, decrepit-looking mech, who was sat in a regal-looking, high-backed chair.

"You're..."

"The guy from the statue..." He smiled, the rusting metal on his face creasing in thousands of places.

"Yes, indeed I am." The mech's whole body was covered in rust, the young bots imagined that if he simply moved a muscle he would probably fall apart.

"What are your designations, children?" Ravenstrike looked indignant for a split second at being called a child, but he understood that this mech commanded respect, and he spoke proudly.

"Ravenstrike, sir."

"Lunar-Song, sir." The elderly mech sat in silence for a great while, breathing heavily.

"You two certainly carry proud designations, and for good reason too. I never thought that my riddle would be solved by ones as young as yourselves. Not that I am disappointed, oh no, I am rather pleased that you two were the ones who figured it out."

"If I may be so bold as to ask, sir, but... What is your designation?" The ancient Cybertronian smiled warmly again.

"I... Do not remember. I have been alone for an awfully long time, waiting for the person who had the initiative and intelligence to figure out my puzzle. I have no designation, it was lost quite a while ago." Ravenstrike cocked his head to the side.

"But... Why have you been waiting here? Alone? How did you survive?" Another weary smile.

"Because Primus commanded me, and he gave me the strength to do so... Now, I must leave this place, and journey to the Well of AllSparks... Thank you, Ravenstrike and Lunar-Song. Thank you... For freeing me." As he said this, his frame started to fall apart.

Plates of armour slipped off, and crumbled to dust as soon as they hit the ground. Soon, all that was left of the mech was a pile of brown dust. Lunar-Song stared at it, suddenly feeling quite sad. There was an urn on the mech's tattered desk, she picked it up and swept the dust into it.

"He didn't tell us where the tunnel entrance was..." Ravenstrike muttered, spark sinking. Lunar-Song placed the lid on the urn and transferred it to her subspace.

"He didn't have to... It's right here." She pointed with a slim, white finger to a single, round door on the left wall of the room. Opening it cautiously, she peeked inside.

"Raven, it's pitch black in here, I can't see a thing." The flier walked through the doorway, despite agreeing with Lunar-Song.

"This floor feels really-" He was cut off as the floor beneath his feet broke away, and he was plunged into a bright room below.

"Raven!" Lunar followed him, even though she knew it wasn't the best idea. They were surprised when they landed on an enormous pile of offline Allicons. They were back in the room they'd started in. Only now, something had changed. There was a round door, much like the one they'd just found upstairs, in the wall right next to them.

"Kids! Are you alright? Did you find anything?" Ravenstrike quickly explained everything to his parents, who rushed over to them, using their bond. All four heads snapped up to the doorway.

"Well, what do you think?" Twilight asked.

"It's our best shot. You ready to go?" Raven replied. They nodded. Just as they stood up, one of the Allicons jerked upright, it had been playing dead. It made a grab with it's jaws for Lunar-Song, but Cyclonus shoved her out the way and into Twilight's arms. The Allicon's jaws closed around Cyclonus' side, it's jagged teeth sinking deep into his frame.

"Cyclonus!"

"Dad!" The Allicon threw the Decepticon back in their direction and Twilight quickly ran forward, helping him up.

"Raven, into the tunnel, quickly!" The flier nodded, doing as she said. Just as he did, a new troop of Allicons burst into the room. Lunar-Song started to panic. She knew what she had to do, she was just afraid of doing it. Shaking her head with a frown, she made up her mind.

"Everyone, cover your optics!" She yelled. Yes, she actually _yelled_ at them. It wasn't a quiet mumble, or an incoherent mutter, it was a command that was not spoken softly at all. They did as she said, too stunned to question her. The hair-like strands sprouting from her head began to glow, softly at first, until they filled the room with a blindingly bright white light.

Twilight and Cyclonus had already stumbled into the passage when Lunar-Song backed into it, slowly shutting the door after her and leaving the blind Allicons that were writhing and thrashing on the floor behind. The light coming from her 'hair' was reduced to a mere, luminescent glow, so that the three of them could see in the dark tunnel ahead. Twilight had Cyclonus' arm slung over her shoulders, supporting him as they made their way through the tunnel.

"Well, would you look at that, we're trapped in a maze of tunnels and I'm severely injured. Sound familiar at all to you, love?" Twilight rolled her optics, trying - and failing - to resist a smile.

As they got further down the tunnel, they found that Lunar-Song's glowing 'hair' was no longer of use, they could see perfectly fine, though they did not know why. They finally came to a fork in the road - well, tunnel - and Lunar-Song started to get a little antsy.

"Which way do you think Ravenstrike went?" The flier had gone on ahead of them after Twilight had pushed him through, and they could not get in contact with him through a comm. link, and his creators' bonds with him were too strained by the pain Cyclonus was in for them to do much in that respect.

Twilight helped her sparkmate prop himself up on the wall of the tunnel before cupping her hands around her mouth and yelling: "RAVEN!" as loud as she possibly could. The sound echoed around them for a long while, but when silence did come, no reply overrode it. Twilight picked a credit out of her subspace, turning to the worried white femme stood next to her.

"Heads or tails."

"Uhh... T-Tails?" Twilight flicked the credit up into the air, and watched as it landed in her palm tails-up, the carving of the Matrix of Leadership staring at them from her hand.

"Left it is then." Lunar-Song's optics widened.

"Umm... Miss Twilight, are... Are you serious?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

* * *

**YES I KNOW I MADE LUNAR-SONG INTO A TOTAL SUE, I DON'T GIVE A CRAP. I do have my reasons, and you'll get to know more about her and this weird ability of hers next chapter. By the way, if you've played Professor Layton and the Diabolical/Pandora's Box, you might know where I got the inspiration for the nonsensical riddle from ;). Well, I hope you enjoyed, part three should be up soon! Thank you for reading!**

**P.S. And credits are totally coins now, I don't care what you say XD.**


	3. Lunar-Song III

**Hey, guys! So, this is the third and final chapter of _Lunar-Song_! I'd like to say thank you to _UltraMagnusFanGirl_ for following the series, to _EHSparkwoman_ for reviewing, following and faving, and to _TheLoveDov_ and _TheSuperiorVision_ for reviewing! Well, I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

Twilight, Cyclonus and Lunar-Song soon found what looked like a storage room in the network of tunnels, and they decided to wait in there for a while before trying to find Ravenstrike. Twilight was kneeling by her sparkmate's side, trying to stanch his wound's bleeding.

"Love, calm down." She narrowed her optics, glaring at him.

"I _am_ calm!" She snapped in a hushed tone, even though she knew Lunar-Song was probably watching them anyway.

"_No_, you're not. You're shaking and you're _crying_." Twilight recoiled defensively.

"I am _not_ cryi-" She cut off as she raised a hand to her cheek-plate, only to find that he was right. She'd gotten herself into such a state that she hadn't even noticed that she'd begun to cry. She sighed wearily.

"I'm getting too fragging old for this." Cyclonus chuckled.

"No, you're just in shock."

"_I_ seem to be in more shock than _you_."

"To be honest, I'm not surprised at all. Whenever we go anywhere involving tunnels,_ I'm_ the one that gets injured. In fact, whenever we go _anywhere_, I'm the one that gets injured." Twilight laughed.

"Now _that's_ a lie if ever I've heard one." She leaned down to kiss him softly.

"Listen, I'm… Sorry, about what I said earlier. I didn't mean-"

"Shut _up_, Twilight. I know." She rolled her optics with a wry smile.

* * *

Lunar-Song was becoming antsy. Neither Cyclonus nor Twilight had asked her about what had happened back in the orphanage with the Allicons, and they still hadn't found Ravenstrike. Looking over to the couple, she saw them laughing quietly about something. An irrepressible guilt set over her then, and she couldn't help but cry out:

"I'm so sorry, this is all my fault!" Twilight raised an optic ridge, leaving Cyclonus' side to sit with Lunar-Song.

"Hey, calm down. None of this is your fault." Lunar shook her head.

"No, I was the one who made you come here… I didn't want to leave my hometown. And then… Cyclonus… He pushed me out the way of that Allicon… _I_ should be-" Twilight shook her head, looking Lunar-Song in the optics with her own stern ones.

"_Don't_ say that. Cyclonus chose to push you out of the way, and he can handle a wound like that a lot better than you think, he'll be fine. None of this is your fault, Lunar, I promise we don't think that." Twilight was surprised when the young femme flung her arms around her and sobbed.

"Hey, there now, come on. Everything's fine."

"I-I thought you'd be a lot… _Crueler_ than this." Twilight giggled.

"Well, we can be when we want. He's just a grumpy old mech non stop." The two femmes laughed quietly, and Cyclonus rolled his optics.

"I may be injured,_ femme_, but my hearing is not impaired." Twilight giggled before her tone became a bit more serious. She looked around the room before turning back to Lunar-Song.

"Listen, Lunar, I only know the basics in first aid, I was lucky to have repaired a wound this serious once before. He needs Ravenstrike. Now I need you to put pressure on the wound for me while I go and look for him. Okay?"

"A-Alright." Twilight smiled reassuringly.

"Thank you." She instructed Lunar and watched for a while until she was sure that it would be safe to leave her. Before she turned her back on the two, Twilight warned her mate.

_**~For Primus' sake, Cyclonus, be **nice**. She's scared.~**_

_~Don't be stupid, of course I will.~_ And with that, she left, focusing on the branch of her spark that she shared with her son.

* * *

Ravenstrike would never admit that he had an _awful_ sense of direction. At least, not while anyone was around to hear him say it. But of course, there was no-one, because he was lost in this _stupid_ maze of tunnels and he couldn't sense his creators anywhere in this Primus-forsaken place!

Just as he rounded a corner, he collided with someone. Without thinking, he lashed out with his claw blades, thinking an Allicon or Sharkticon had followed them in. He was surprised – and somewhat relieved – however, when his swipe was blocked by an identical set of blades.

"Thank Primus I found you, Mom! I thought I was going to go crazy in this place!" He yelled, picking up Twilight in a frame-crushing hug. She laughed, before remembering why she had needed to find her creation so urgently.

"Your father's in bad shape, I can't help him." Raven smirked.

"Oh, somebody's been slacking off, eh? You repaired Dad after he was nearly torn to shreds by that Draxian."

"Do you _want_ me to ramble on about how it was my sheer _love_ for your father that gave me the strength to save him?" The teenage mech's optics narrowed threateningly.

"You wouldn't _dare_." Twilight smirked.

"Better keep that mouth of yours shut then, _boy_."

* * *

It hadn't taken long for Twilight to find Ravenstrike, so the walk back to the storage room wasn't a lengthy one. The young medic rushed over to his mech creator as soon as he entered the room, assessing the damage.

"It's an easy fix, the bleeding just makes it look worse." Twilight let out a quiet 'phew', and Lunar-Song smiled with relief. Suddenly, the white femme went rigid.

"I can hear footsteps!" She whispered, and Twilight strained her audio receptors. She was right, there were footsteps heading their way. The Decepticon femme put a finger to her lip-plates, motioning for them to be silent, as she crept out of the room and closed the door behind her as quietly as she could.

She slipped around the corner so as to intercept the attacker before they could get to the storage room. When the mech – or femme – got close enough, Twilight leaped and brought them to the floor.

* * *

"_Magnus_?"

"_Twilight_?" The femme sighed with relief.

"Primus, give me a little warning next time! I was about to offline you!" She heaved herself off the mech and gave him a hand up. "How did you even find this place?" She asked with a raised optic ridge.

"You left the door open." He replied with a chuckle. She rolled her optics.

"Of course I did. You took your sweet time getting here, by the way." She added as they began to walk together. He frowned at her.

"Hey, it's not _my_ fault I can't get from one end of the planet to another in the space of a few seconds!" She laughed.

"I'm joking, cool your circuits." Magnus chuckled with her for a moment before asking:

"So, where's the family?" Twilight gestured to the door to the storage room.

"In there. Cyclonus got himself injured, Ravenstrike's patching him up. What's the situation above ground?" Ultra Magnus shrugged.

"Last I heard, we were just cleaning up the mess. The Quints fled as soon as we arrived." Twilight's optic ridge rose.

"You must have brought quite a team." He shook his head.

"I didn't call the shots, Optimus did. Before you start, I've asked him not to let Galvatron know. I guessed you'd be in deep slag for calling us and not the 'Cons." She nodded, in thanks and agreement with his last statement. "Why _did_ you call us anyway?" She shrugged.

"The Decepticons would have taken too long to get here. It was easier to call you." That was all Twilight said on the matter, and Magnus knew that that was all she _would_ say.

"Well, I may as well head back up." She nodded again.

"We'll follow as soon as Cyclonus has been repaired. Give my thanks to Prime, would you?" Ultra Magnus nodded.

"Sure thing." Suddenly, Lunar-Song popped her head out of the doorway.

"Umm… Miss Twilight? Oh, uhh… hello Ultra Magnus, Sir... Miss Twilight?"

"Don't call me miss, but yes?"

"Right, sorry Mi- _Twilight._ Umm, Cyclonus is asking for you." Twilight nodded, and Lunar-Song disappeared inside again.

"Well," Ultra Magnus said, "I'll be seeing you." She nodded once more.

"Goodbye." Twilight watched him go, his frame disappearing from sight after he walked round a corner.

_'Thank you, Brother.'_ And she turned on her heel and headed into the storage room.

* * *

Cyclonus had been fully repaired when she entered, and was sitting in the corner of the room. She made her way over to him, kneeling down by his side. She wrapped her arms around his neck, sighing.

"_Never_ fragging do that to me again." He chuckled. Before he could reply, something clicked in Twilight's processor, something that should have quite a while ago but she was too preoccupied with Cyclonus' injury for it to have clicked.

"Lunar-Song, forgive me for being so blunt, but I believe you have some explaining to do." She said, turning to face the femme. To her surprise, Lunar-Song nodded in agreement.

"I guess... I better start from the beginning… I've never met my creators. I don't know whether they offlined or whether they… Didn't want me… But I lived in that orphanage my whole life until I moved to the academy. When I was a sparkling, my carer used to sing to me, and I learnt the lullaby and started to sing along."

"That's when they found out something strange. Whenever I sung, my 'hair strands' would glow. I still didn't have a designation then, and one of the workers said that the glow reminded her of Earth's moon, so they named me Lunar-Song."

"When I grew older, I began to perform for the people in town. Everybody was itching to see the sweet little femme with the melodic voice whose hair glowed when she sang. I didn't mind being a tourist attraction, I enjoyed singing for people and it brought money into the town. But one day, something awful happened."

"A scientist from one of the neighboring towns theorised that energy could be created using my glowing 'hair'. So he sent a group of – I don't really know _what_ you would call them – bounty hunters, I guess, to capture me. Why he couldn't just ask for my cooperation is beyond me. They were ex-Decepticons, and they had taken a lot of research with them when they left the cause."

"Using some of this research, the scientist had managed to perfect a strange hallucinogenic gas that would make your vocaliser unstable if you breathed it in, as well as making you see anything your brain spontaneously thought up."

"I inhaled quite a lot of it, as they threw it onto the stage from the audience during one of my performances where they had been posing as tourists. That's why I can't yell, my voice cuts out if I try and talk too loudly. No medic I've been to has managed to repair it."

"Luckily, I managed to escape before they could get to me, and after that incident, I stopped singing. Years later, I enrolled at the academy, where I met Ravenstrike. That's… That's pretty much all there is to tell you." The three Decepticons were stunned, even Cyclonus was silent.

"Wow… Lunar…" Ravenstrike muttered. Twilight got up suddenly, walking over to the white femme.

"You've been through a lot, Lunar-Song, and I respect you all the more for it. I have quite a bit in common with you, it seems." When Lunar-Song made a noise of understanding in the back of her throat, Twilight turned to Ravenstrike, who smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head.

"Which, I'm sure, Ravenstrike has already told you."

"H-He told me quite a lot, but I'm sure I don't know everything." The Decepticon femme rolled her optics with a small smile.

"Just like his father, can't keep his mouth shut." Cyclonus glared daggers at her back.

"Once again, _femme,_ my hearing is _not_ impaired."

* * *

Once Ravenstrike was sure that it was okay for Cyclonus to start walking again, the four Cybertronians made their way to the surface of the planet. When they arrived, they exited the orphanage and stood in the street, taking in the damaged town. Twilight sighed.

They never _did_ find out what the Quintessons were after. The Autobots had already left, and the townspeople were beginning to pop their heads out of their hiding places to see if it was safe to come out yet. Upon seeing the Decepticons, however, they would duck back into hiding.

"Well, we'd better get going. The townspeople are starting to come out, and we're about as welcome here as the Quintessons were. It was lovely meeting you, Lunar-Song." Twilight smiled, giving the femme a quick hug.

"Y-You too." Ravenstrike sighed. If Lunar wasn't going to say it, he would have to.

"Mom, Lunar has nowhere to go!" Twilight raised an optic ridge, Cyclonus mirroring her.

"What do you mean?" Lunar-Song's face-plates were red with embarrassment, and she looked down at the floor, refusing to speak. Ravenstrike rounded on her.

"It's true, isn't it? You've been boarding at the academy, but now that you've got your degree, you can't stay there anymore. You have nowhere to live!" Twilight opened her mouth to speak, but before she could say anything, Cyclonus spoke up.

"She's welcome to stay with us." Lunar-Song's head snapped up, and she shook her head frantically, 'hair' flying everywhere.

"N-No, I couldn't. I-I'd hate to impose." Twilight shook her head, smiling warmly.

"You wouldn't be imposing, and Cyclonus is right. You're welcome to live with us for as long as you like. If you want to, that is." Lunar looked down at her feet for a while, contemplating their proposal. After a moment, she looked up, a smile upon her grey face-plates.

"If you're _sure_ it's not too much trouble… I'll stay with you." Ravenstrike picked up the dainty femme, spinning her around and kissing her lovingly. Cyclonus rolled his optics, looking away. Twilight only giggled and elbowed him in the side.

"Don't act so disgusted, he gets that from you."

* * *

Lunar-Song was lying on a spare berth in Cyclonus and Twilight's quarters, since they would have to do a little rearranging before one would fit in Ravenstrike's. She sat up, not being able to recharge. Looking over at Cyclonus and Twilight, the two lost in recharge, she smiled. Suddenly, Twilight's hands balled into fists, and she started to shake.

"No, no…" She muttered, and Lunar-Song wondered whether she should wake her up, or maybe go and get Ravenstrike.

"Oh Primus no… Cyclonus… No, _no_!" The mech lying beside her onlined his optics and quickly sat up, wrapping his arms around her and whispering comforting words into her audio.

"Can't recharge?" He asked, and Lunar-Song knew he was talking to her.

"Not really, no. I-Is she okay?" The mech nodded, kissing his mate's forehead before slowly standing up, leaving her side.

"Night terrors." He said by way of explanation. "She doesn't suffer them as often as she used to, but now and again, they come back." He walked over to the window opposite Lunar's berth, leaning against the window-ledge.

"You must really love her." Cyclonus didn't seem taken aback by the statement.

"Of course I do, I wouldn't be here if I didn't, now would I?" Lunar-Song smiled.

"That's what I meant. For a Decepticon, you're very caring. I don't know many mechs, but out of those I do know, I can say that they would never be as accepting of Twilight's nightmares as you seem to be." Cyclonus sighed.

"Twilight… She acts like she's strong – and she_ is_ – but… She's been to the Pit and back, and there isn't anyone who can come out of the hell she was subjected to unscathed… Even her." Lunar-Song's smile came back, though smaller than before.

"It's a nice thing to see… Two people who everybody would expect to be sparkless killers, so in love with each-other." Cyclonus chuckled quietly.

"Yes, well, she's not always the war machine she pretends to be."

"Neither are you." His optics brightened, but not with anger. In his spark, he knew the dainty little femme was right. She carried on.

"Raven's told me a lot about all the 'adventures' you two have had, as he called them. Trouble seems to follow you wherever you go." The mech laughed.

"Well, there's never a dull moment. And on that note, welcome to the family. Goodnight, Lunar-Song." She giggled slightly, returning the 'goodnight', but she felt her spark warm at the mention of being a part of a family, even if he seemed to have said it jokingly.

With those words going round and round in her head, she lay back down with a small smile. For once, Lunar-Song felt like she belonged. For once, Lunar-Song felt at home.

* * *

**There ya go, usual cheesy ending for y'all =D! Hope you enjoyed, that's the last we'll be seeing of Lunar-Song for a while, but I do have a few more one-shots planned that include her. I'm still taking in ideas, by the way, so feel free to drop a PM! And, as I said before, I do have a pretty long list (of around 18 =P), so if it takes me a while to get round to writing your one-shot, I haven't forgotten about it, I promise! Well, hope to speak soon, thanks for reading!**

******Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers or any of the characters I use in this story except for Twilight, Ravenstrike and Lunar-Song.**

******P.S. - Completely forgot to mention this last chapter, but, if you were wondering, Lunar-Song is the same age as Ravenstrike (16).**

******P.P.S - I have a horrible tendency to make my major OCs into science experiments, haven't I ^^;?**


	4. Afterburn

**Hello! Sorry it's been ages since I last updated this, I've been pretty busy recently and haven't had the time to sit and write something properly. Thank you to _Corevil _and _TheSuperiorVision _for reviewing!**

**Okay, so without spoiling this whole one-shot for you, lemme just fill you in on some stuff.**

**Afterburn is_ not _my OC. He is_ TheSuperiorVision's. _I was asked to write a one-shot that included Afterburn, and whilst I'm not pleased with this at all and I really don't think I've done _TheSuperiorVision's_ awesome character any justice, I've kept you all waiting long enough and it's probably gonna be a while until I finish the next one-shot on the list, so here it is.**

**Also, you'll be seeing an OC of mine that you haven't seen for quite a while, and the age differences are still up on _Lunar-Song (Part 1) _just in case you get confused.**

**Alright, I think that's it! On with the one-shot then! Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

"Hey Mom, who's the new guy?" Twilight looked up from her desk to see Ravenstrike, who was standing in the doorway of her quarters. He chucked his toolbox onto her berth before making himself at home on it, which she sighed and rolled her optics at.

"He's not a 'new guy', he's a bounty hunter Galvatron hired to track down a few Quints that were seen in the area recently. His designation's Afterburn."

"He's not a talkative mech, is he?" Twilight suddenly seemed apprehensive, she stiffened and swivelled her chair around to fully face her creation.

"How would you know? Have you spoken to him?" Raven raised an optic ridge, wondering what had changed his mother's attitude about the bounty hunter so quickly.

"_No_, I just guessed from the fact that he sits in the corner of the rec room and does nothing all day. Why are you getting yourself so worked up?" Twilight sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"It was just something Thundercracker said years ago, it doesn't matter. I want you to promise me you won't go near Afterburn, okay? And keep Lunar-Song away from him, too."

"_Alright_, _alright_. And anyway, Lunar isn't helpless anymore, I _have_ been teaching her how to fight you know." Twilight raised an optic ridge and deadpanned,

"So you're saying she's tough enough to take on Afterburn?" Ravenstrike looked startled for a nanosecond before he scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"Ehehe, I'm just gonna go and find Lunar." He practically flew out of the room before calmly walking the few steps down the corridor that it took to get to his and Lunar-Song's quarters.

_'Primus forbid he actually** closes** the door on his way out.'_ Twilight sighed, pressing her palm to her forehead.

"Someone looks tired." An amused voice brought her out of her thoughts. She smiled wearily at her sparkmate, watching as he sent a funny look to the toolbox on the berth.

"Raven." She answered shortly. He grunted in response, moving the offending object onto the window-ledge. Cyclonus practically collapsed onto their berth, and Twilight laughed.

"And you said _I_ was the tired one." He rolled his optics, muttering,

"Well,_ I'm_ not the one who's been stalking that bounty hunter all day." Twilight huffed indignantly, crossing her arms.

"I have_ not_ been stalking him! Primus, whenever I so much as _look_ at a mech whose profile you've not gone through, you throw a fit!" Another roll of his optics.

"Love, you've been following him. All. _Day_. Even _Scourge_ noticed, and he doesn't usually notice what goes on right before his optics." Twilight sighed, holding her head in her hands. Okay, so she _may_ have gone down a few of the same corridors as Afterburn even though they were taking her to the wrong side of the base, and she _might_ have eavesdropped on one or two of his private conversations with Galvatron, but Cyclonus would do exactly the same-

"No I wouldn't." She let out another tired huff as she realised she'd either been saying her thoughts out loud, or her spark had turned traitor and let Cyclonus listen in. Her mate dragged her off of her chair and onto the berth, ignoring her half-hearted yelps of protest.

"Why are you worried? He's just a bounty hunter. He's not going to hurt Lunar, if that's what you're thinking. Galvatron would never allow it." Twilight knew Cyclonus was right. Galvatron held Lunar-Song in very high regards.

Ravenstrike had found a way to convert the energy she gave off from her 'hair' into energon. It was a long process that was quite exhausting for everyone involved, not just Lunar, so they didn't do it often, but it made Galvatron happy to know that they always had a potential store of energon.

"That's not the reason, is it." It was more a statement than a question, and Twilight shook her head.

"I remember... Thundercracker told me something about him once. I can't be certain, but I'm sure it was him. He was a neutral when the war started, his designation was Exhaust, or something like that. Decepticons ambushed him on his way to an Autobot outpost. He's an entirely different mech now. And he's insane."

"He doesn't look insane to me. Besides, need I remind you that _you_ were insane once?" She mock scowled at him, replying with,

"Yeah, insane enough to bond with _you_." He growled, shoving her lightly in the shoulder. She giggled, resting her head on his chest-plate. Her smile was soon wiped off her face when she continued with what she'd been saying earlier.

"I just... It feels like the mech has his own agenda. There's something else going on here, besides hunting Quintessons." Cyclonus sighed, rolling his optics.

"I'm sure it's nothing. For Primus' sake, _and_ mine, don't do anything stupid, Twilight." She stuck her tongue out at him childishly.

"I'm not a youngling, Cyclonus."

"Stop acting like one then." She didn't say anything else, and simply got up to finish her report. Afterburn was up to something, and she was going to find out what.

* * *

Twilight was on her way back to her quarters from the control room, Scourge having '_persuaded_' her to cover his shift on monitor duty, when she caught sight of Afterburn only a few metres in front of her. Frowning, she slipped around the corridor, thinking to herself.

There was no reason for Afterburn to be this far down the hall, his quarters were in the other direction. Twilight wasn't sure whether she should make her presence known and hear his reason for being down here, or just quietly follow him and find out what he was up to.

She soon found out she didn't have a choice in the matter, as the flier entered Galvatron's quarters. Twilight frowned. That was strange. Only Cyclonus and herself had ever been in Galvatron's quarters, aside from Galvatron himself. The femme knew that was she was about to do was risky, but she needed to know what this bounty hunter had really been hired for, and she needed to know now.

So, slinking up to the reinforced door of Galvatron's room, Twilight pressed the side of her head to the cold metal, and strained her audio receptor. She was rewarded with muffled voices, but luckily ones that she could understand. She listened silently, also recording all that she heard.

_"I see the Quintessons have been eradicated. Good. You have done half of your job."_ There was no reply from Afterburn.

_'**Half** of his job? What are you going on about, you crazy mech?'_ Twilight moved away from the door as footsteps came near it from the other side, and then pressed her audio against it again when she deemed it safe.

_"I have but one question, sir."_ There was some sort of grunt of approval on the other end, and Twilight raised an optic ridge.

_"Your commander, the femme, Twilight. She is fond of the Autobots, is she not?"_ Galvatron scoffed.

_"Only the fool Magnus and his family. I assure you that your target will have nothing to do with anyone Twilight holds dear."_ Said femme started to back away as she heard footsteps heading for her. She dashed into her quarters. Luckily, Cyclonus was still out, so she had time to think over everything she had just heard.

Twilight was, in fact, right in saying that Afterburn had some sort of secret agenda, though she didn't feel any better now that she knew it. Slowly, carefully, so she didn't miss anything, the black and red femme started to piece together everything she had found out.

Afterburn's true target was an Autobot that Galvatron suspected of trying to hack into the Decepticons' systems. Whoever it was hadn't cloaked their signal properly, and they had been located at an outpost not very far from Chaar. Of course, Twilight still had to meet up with the Autobots for occasional peace conferences, but no fights or rows had come of it yet, so Twilight couldn't understand why an Autobot would attempt to start another civil war.

Twilight resolved to speak to Ultra Magnus about the whole thing later on, when she suddenly remembered something.

_'Oh Primus no... Please don't let me be right...'_ She racked her brains to check if her memory served her correctly, hoping, for once, that it wouldn't. Panic seized her only a moment later.

_'Oh **Primus**... I have to stop him.'_

* * *

Cyclonus returned to his quarters quite late, having been held up by a drunken Scourge who, for some strange reason, thought Twilight was carrying again. The second in command wanted nothing more than to rest with his mate, but when he got to their quarters, he found them empty.

He tugged on her spark, worried that she was following Afterburn around again. She responded with a jumble of images, and he replied briefly before leaving the conversation of sorts. At least he knew she was safe and not out causing trouble like a youngling. Or so he thought.

* * *

Twilight had told Cyclonus that she had just gone to quickly visit Thundercracker on Thellion. She was, in fact, still on Chaar. More precisely, the ex-spy was crouched behind one of the barren planet's many boulders, once again thanking them for their usefulness. She didn't have to wait long before she saw Afterburn's frame exit base. The mech transformed and flew off, leaving the planet behind. Twilight followed, but not too closely so as to make sure she wasn't spotted.

It didn't take long for them to reach the Autobot outpost, which Twilight found to be surprisingly well taken care of. This only increased her worry.

_'Oh, come **on**, little one… Where **are** you? You have to get out of here.'_ The femme knew the Autobot that Afterburn had been hired to terminate, knew her very well, in fact. She heard footsteps coming around the corner, and quickly leaped up and slipped between two pipes running along the ceiling. She only hoped it was the femme she was looking for, and not a certain bounty hunter.

* * *

Cyclonus was busy writing a report concerning an upcoming peace conference about energon stocks that Twilight would be attending, when the console in his quarters started to beep. Switching seats from the one at his desk to the one in front of the monitor, he answered the call. It was Starlight.

"Hey, Cyc!" The mech chuckled quietly.

"Hello, Starlight. If you're looking for Twilight, she's out at the minute."

"I wasn't really looking for anyone in-particular. I've just been stationed at an outpost near Chaar, and I was wondering if you knew anything about the _massive_ energy signature that landed here just now. Also – and this is the _really_ strange part – I sensed another signature shortly after the first one, and it was very similar to, well, Twilight's." Cyclonus frowned, but didn't have time to reply to the femme as Ravenstrike and Lunar-Song both burst into the room.

"Uhh… Dad? Mom just – oh, hey Starlight!"

"Hey Raven, hey Lunar." Lunar-Song waved hello, and Ravenstrike continued.

"Anyway, Mom just sent me the strangest message." Cyclonus raised an optic ridge.

"Really? What did she say?"

"Here, listen." The two Decepticons, Lunar, and the Autobot on the other end of the call all stood in silence, listening intently as Ravenstrike played the message from his creator.

_:Raven, would you do me a favour and tell your father I say 'I told you so'? Don't ask me how I found out, but I know who Afterburn's real target is. Listen to me, you need to get in touch with the outpost situated just to the west of Chaar. He's looking fo- She needs to- I'm on m-:_ The recording went dead, the static that had been building up finally drowning out Twilight's voice fully.

The room was deadly quiet. Lunar-Song was fiddling with strands of her 'hair' in an attempt to stop herself from having a panic attack, and Ravenstrike was staring astounded at his equally-as-astounded father.

"Uhh… Guys? Hello? I didn't hear that last part, would someone care to tell me why you all look like someone's just offlined?" Cyclonus suddenly shook himself, turning to Starlight's image on the screen.

"Starlight, get yourself out of there and to Chaar right _now_! _You're_ Afterburn's target!" Starlight was still confused beyond belief.

"Wait a sec, who's Afterburn? What the _frag_ is going on?" Ravenstrike took it upon himself to answer as his father stood there muttering rapidly under his breath,

"She was right all along…"

"Afterburn's this crazy-aft bounty hunter and-"

"_Bounty_ hunter? Why am_ I_ his fragging target? I need to-" The screen went blank as the connection fizzled out.

"_Starlight_?!"

* * *

Twilight was following Afterburn through the maze of corridors in the outpost, silently stalking him from her hiding place among the network of pipes on the ceiling. She eventually found herself in the building's control room, hanging almost directly above the bounty hunter.

"Come out, come out wherever you are, Twilight." The mech suddenly muttered, his voice taking on a surprisingly gleeful tone that was not there before, and was disturbing in every possible way. "Come on," He continued, "I know you're here _somewhere_, but I don't know where. I'm impressed, Twilight. Not many can keep themselves hidden from me." Twilight scowled and jumped down from her hiding place, landing a short distance behind the mech.

"…And even less believe that they have no reason to." She stayed put, claw blades deployed and a blank expression on her face.

"I suggest you leave here now, and do so quietly. Otherwise things will get _very_ ugly." He laughed, the sound was twisted and downright insane.

"Galvatron told me that you would not get in my way."

"Yes, well, he was wrong. He didn't know _who_ he was sending you to terminate." Afterburn's face-plates contorted as he snarled.

"I hope you realise that I'm _not_ going to let you interfere." She smirked, battle visor flipping down.

"And I hope _you_ realise that I have _no_ intention of letting any harm come to my family. Decepticon or not, if you don't leave here now, I'll make sure you don't leave at all."

"Likewise." He shot back. She growled, her mask sliding into place.

"So be it."

* * *

Twilight found herself slightly frustrated with the fact that she was already on the defensive. She was used to being the attacker, not the one _being_ attacked. She was caught off guard when the bounty hunter suddenly swung the whole of his upper body around, almost slicing her arm clean off with his wing. The femme flipped out of his reach as he made a grab for her throat, and disappeared into the shadows of the cluttered control room.

"Leaving so soon, Twilight? I thought you were more of a warrior than _that_." Without warning, she jumped down from the ceiling – Afterburn was lost as to how she'd managed to get up there _again_ without him noticing – and swiped low with her claws, leaving a nasty gash across his right leg that began to bleed heavily.

"I could say the same to you, _Exhaust_." The mech twisted around with the force and fury of an enraged bull and nicked her shoulder with the tip of his wing, sending her careening into a monitor, the glass smashing upon impact and giving Twilight little cuts all over her arms. She winced, picking out a rather large shard of glass.

"That mech is dead." Afterburn growled lethally, venom packed into each and every word. Twilight smiled, which seemed to anger the mech even further.

"And soon, Afterburn will be too."

* * *

Their fight continued on for a good few hours, and both Cybertronians were starting to tire. The two of them were severely beaten and energon was running down every plate of their armour. Twilight panted, the battle had taken more out of her than she had expected. Afterburn was a good fighter.

"It seems all the stories of the fearless Commander Twilight were true after all." Afterburn laughed, and Twilight raised an optic ridge, wiping her optic when a trail of energon ran over it and momentarily blinded her.

"I was not aware of any stories regarding my prowess." The tall mech chuckled again.

"Well, there are one or two. You have managed to impress me again, I didn't think that you would be able to hold your own for this long. Although I must say, you seem to have lost your ruthless quality. Maybe settling down with that pathetic mech Galvatron calls his second in command has made you _soft_." Twilight growled, and was about to rush forward when one of Afterburn's wings caught her leg, sending her to the floor.

"Tell me, Commander, how do you think he will cope with the pain losing you will bring? Do you think he'll try to hunt me down? It would be a wasted effort. I would end him, just as I am about to end _you_." The femme just managed to roll out of the way of the finishing blow, but she couldn't get back on her feet.

Her left leg had been butchered. The situation went from bad to worse in the space of a few seconds as Afterburn sliced into her right leg, rendering it useless. She held back a scream, trying to focus her fuzzy optics. She needed a plan, and she needed one fast if it was going to save her now. Afterburn sneered at her, not noticing how close he was as an opportunity struck her and she prepared to strike.

"How long do you think you will survive if I just leave you here to bleed? I'd say around five minutes, ten if you're lucky. No matter, either way, you will not last long enough for your mate or your brat of a youngling to help you. Ah, how it pains me to see such an excellent warrior fall. But I must admit, for such a feared figure, you were a surprisingly _average_ opponent in the en-"

The triumphant look he was wearing quickly distorted into one of shock and immense pain as Twilight drove her claw blades into the base of his neck.

"Then I am sorry… That I failed to impress you… At least you can take solace in the fact that… You now know the reason why… Mechs like you... Ought to fear me…" She pulled her claws out of the mech's thick armour, losing consciousness to the sound of the mech's energon pooling onto the floor.

* * *

Cyclonus was running to the med bay, ignoring the questions and quizzical looks the mechs he hurried past sent his way. He had to get there without any interruptions. When he finally reached his destination, he found that Lunar-Song, Ravenstrike and Starlight were already there, laughing at the expense of a wide awake Twilight who was being shouted at by Hook. Everyone became silent when they noticed that he had arrived, and without a word they all left the room. Twilight huffed.

"_You_ are an _idiot_!" Cyclonus yelled, and she rolled her optics.

"Is it_ impossible_ for you to wait for back-up, or to actually _tell_ me what's going on before you run off?!" She looked him dead in the optics.

"You say that as if you would have listened to me." He scowled.

"_Don't_ start acting like this."

"I told you from the beginning that he had a private agenda." Cyclonus laughed sarcastically, glaring crimson daggers at his mate.

"Oh, so suddenly this is all _my_ fault?" They stared each-other down for a few long minutes before Twilight started to giggle. Cyclonus rolled his optics, but his harsh expression softened a little and he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close.

"You're an insane glitch." He muttered, only succeeding in making her laugh again.

"Yes, but I'm _your_ insane glitch, and you wouldn't have me any other way." Cyclonus sighed. She was right.

* * *

**First off, to everybody, I'm sorry about the fight scene being so crap. I'm sorry that the scenes in general were so jumpy and that the one-shot as a whole was just awful. And to _TheSuperiorVision_, I'm sorry that I did not write your character well at all, and that he was hardly in the start or the end of it. Oh God I didn't like this.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers, or any of the characters I use in this story other than Twilight, Ravenstrike, Lunar-Song and Starlight. _TheSuperiorVision_ owns Afterburn. **


	5. Father's Day

**Hey, guys! Sorry for disappearing for such a long time, I've had a load of stuff going on and I couldn't find my muse for this little collection of stories. I suddenly had inspiration to write this last night, so I did, and I'm actually quite proud of it =D. First, I need to say thank you to _TheSuperiorVision_ and _TheLoveDov_ for reviewing! Well, I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

"So apparently there's this Earth holiday called Father's Day, where on this one day every year the humans show their love and respect for their fathers by getting them gifts and spending time with them." Starlight said, reading out a passage from an article that had caught her eye on the humans' database known as the internet. Cyclonus raised an optic ridge, slightly confused.

He and Lunar-Song were currently visiting Starlight at the new outpost she had been stationed at. This one was actually _on_ Chaar's surface, so that her energy signature wouldn't confuse Galvatron and cause another incident like the one with Afterburn. Her purpose for being there was to provide an easy link to Optimus Prime. However, in her spare time, she liked to read about humans, a species she'd grown very interested in.

"Don't the humans show respect to their creators every day of the year?" Cyclonus asked, once again finding himself annoyed with the human race's ridiculous celebrations. Lunar-Song couldn't help but giggle.

"I don't know, but Raven sure doesn't." Starlight piped up again from where she sat in front of her large terminal.

"Hey, where _is_ Raven anyway?" The Decepticon second-in-command pinched the bridge of his nose, ashamed - and still furious - about what his son had done to wind up where he was now.

"_Ravenstrike_ is currently in the med bay." The blue and silver femme's purple optics widened slightly, curiosity growing. Ravenstrike hardly _ever_ got himself injured - or, more likely was it that whenever he did, he just patched himself up and didn't tell anyone to save himself the lectures and embarrassment.

"Whoa, how'd he get stuck in _there_?" Lunar-Song suddenly started to giggle even louder behind her hand, which made Starlight eager to find out about what she'd missed out on.

"He pulled an absolutely _ridiculous_ stunt whilst out drinking with his friends from the academy last night, which ended with him breaking two of his wings as well as an audio receptor." The mech in question's father explained briefly, as if it was physically painful to even talk about the incident. The older femme out of the two in the room was caught between wanting to run down to the med bay and laugh at Ravenstrike's expense and wanting to run down to the med bay and check if he was okay.

"Sweet mother of Megatron he must have had one too many." Lunar-Song nodded, 'hair' bouncing lightly about her face-plates.

"Mmhm, and when I say one, I actually mean around six."

"_Six_ too many? _Primus_, I can't imagine Twilight's very happy with him." Cyclonus sighed, shaking his head.

"Trust me, she isn't. She's down there with him now, actually. I'd better go and make sure she hasn't offlined him yet." Starlight laughed, waving him off.

"Yeah, you probably should." Lunar-Song waved as well.

"Tell him I'll come and see him when all of that high grade's out of his system." The purple mech nodded before walking out the control room and heading back to base. After he was out of sight, Starlight turned to Lunar-Song.

"You do realise you _have_ to tell me _all_ about what happened, don't you?" The white femme giggled for a long while at the mere memory of the event before calming herself down and getting ready to recount the tale.

"_Well_, basically..."

* * *

_"Twilight, calm down! You're going to break essential equipment!"_

"_I'm going to break my fragging son's ****__nec_k_ in a moment! You can tell me to calm down once I have a decent fragging explanation for why he thought it would be funny to do what he did in a drunken state like this!"_

_"Mom, I- I swear to drunk I'm not Primus- wait a minute..."_ Cyclonus regretted bothering to come and check on his son. He hadn't even gone into the med bay yet, and he could hear the yelling perfectly well from outside the doors. Ravenstrike's words were slurring so badly he was becoming hard to understand - not that the sentences he was stringing together were making much sense anyway.

Twilight was absolutely livid; Cyclonus hadn't witnessed her in a mood _this_ bad for a _very _long time. And, from what the SIC could tell, Hook was trying to act as professionally as he possibly could – and he was failing rather miserably at it.

_"You are just lucky that Blaster intercepted that call before you could reach Optimus Prime! Do you have __**any**__ idea what Galvatron would have done to you if that had been sent through?!"_

_"Wait, he was sending it to __**Prime**__?! Holy Primus, Ravenstrike what in the __**Pit **__were you thinking?!"_ Despite the fact that it probably wasn't one of the best decisions he'd ever made, Cyclonus entered the med bay. There was a unanimous break in the conversation; the room was silent as he walked in.

And then all of a sudden, Ravenstrike burst out into hysterical laughter.

"Heyyyyy, _Dad_! L-Look- _look_ Mom- look, it's, it's _Dad_!" Twilight held her head in her hands, walking over to join her sparkmate by the doors.

"I am about to _offline_ him, I swear to Primus-"

"H-Hey Dad! Can- can you tell Dad – no, wait – can you tell _Mom_ that she's overrea-"

"For Primus' sake son, shut _up_!" Cyclonus yelled, and Ravenstrike quieted down for a moment before bursting out laughing again.

"Ooooooh, wh-what the frag crawled up _your_ tailpipe?!" He managed to say, before being consumed by his laughter, as if he had told the funniest joke in the universe.

"Primus Hook can't you just knock him out already?!" Twilight snapped, repeatedly balling her hands into fists and then unclenching them, hoping that the rhythm would calm her down. The medic nodded, carefully removing a plate of the flier's armour on his upper arm before sticking a needle into one of the large exposed wires.

"Ow! Hey, Hook, that- that, that ain't cool, Hook! I-" The mech suddenly stopped talking as his systems began to shut down. As soon as the mech had finally slipped into a forced recharge, the three Decepticons sighed, all of them relieved that they'd finally managed to shut Ravenstrike up.

"Well, maybe _now_ I can actually get to work on repairing the imbecile." Hook muttered, and was met with nods from both creators of the flier.

"Thank you, Hook. We'll leave you to it." Twilight said, Cyclonus voicing his agreement shortly after. They left the med bay – and their drunken son – behind, heading back to their quarters for a much-needed rest.

* * *

After having heard the whole story from Lunar-Song about Ravenstrike's little 'stunt', Starlight was unexpectedly called back to Cybertron by her mother, who apparently had something to tell her that couldn't be said over their bond. That fact alone was enough to intrigue the young femme, and so she made it back home in very good time.

"Hey, Mom, I'm home!" When she entered the apartment that they were now living in with Ultra Magnus, the first person Starlight happened to lay optics on was the Autobot second-in-command himself, standing in front of the apartment's terminal with his back to her.

"Hey, Magnus!" The large mech turned around, and the femme was surprised to note that he seemed quite shocked to see her.

"O-Oh, hello, Starlight! Is everything alright over on Chaar?" The femme laughed suddenly, grinning.

"Aside from an extremely furious Twilight and an over-energised Ravenstrike, everything's just fine!" Magnus' optics widened, and then he sighed, shaking his head with a chuckle.

"Never a dull moment with Twilight and her family, is there?" The silver femme giggled, affirming her answer with a shake of her head.

"Well, what brings you home? Not that I'm _not_ glad you're back so soon, I just-" Starlight stifled her giggles, holding up her hands in a silencing gesture.

"_Chill_, Magnus. It's cool. I came back because Mom said she wanted to see me, but I assumed you would have known that." Confusing the young femme even more, Ultra Magnus suddenly froze. He almost looked… _embarrassed_? Nothing was making sense now. She raised an optic ridge, taking a few steps towards the mech her mother had fallen in love with.

"Hey, is everything okay?" The mech came out of his daze abruptly, looking down at the femme in front of him.

"Everything's fine, Starlight! Absolutely fine!" Her other optic ridge rose to match its opposite's height.

"Are you sure?" There was a strained pause before Starlight spoke up again.

"Where _is_ Mom, anyway? Isn't she here?" The SIC responded a bit too quickly, further raising Starlight's confusion at his antsy attitude that was very unlike him.

"She was recharging when I checked on her a few minutes ago, she might be awake now." The femme nodded, walking up the few small steps it took to get to Magnus' and her mother's room before quietly pushing the door open.

"Mom? You awake?"

"Ah, Starlight! You're home!" Blizzard rushed toward her, arms enveloping her daughter in a close embrace. Starlight laughed quietly, returning the hug.

"Hey, Mom."

"It's so nice to see you, dear!" She rolled her eyes, smiling warmly.

"I've only been gone for five weeks, Mom. It's not like it's been a century." Blizzard cut her creation a look, holding the femme by the shoulders at arm's length.

"Of course it hasn't been a century! I'd never let you disappear for _that_ long!" They laughed, hugging again before getting back on topic.

"So, what did you call me home for?" The confusion that had been mounting up ever since Starlight walked through the apartment door seemed to finally peak, as she could have sworn she saw sadness flit across her mother's optics for a split second.

"Well, sweetspark… There's been something we've wanted to show you for a while now, and I decided that today should finally be the day that I do. Or, rather, that Ultra Magnus does." The femme frowned, curiosity beginning to arise.

"_Okay_, so, what is it?"

"It's not on Cybertron, dear. Ultra Magnus is going to take you to the planet it's on."

"Mom, _what _is going on?" The older femme simply smiled, shaking her head.

"It's nothing terrible, so stop worrying! I promise you'll love it!" Starlight rolled her purple optics once again as both her and her mother went to join Magnus by the apartment door.

"Well, Magnus, I'm ready to go when you are." She said, kissing her mother goodbye. Only Primus knew what the femme's plan was, but this _was_ her mother she was talking about, so _surely_ there was nothing that could go wrong… was there?

* * *

Wherever Magnus was taking her, it was very far away from Cybertron – and that was ignoring the fact that the journey felt like it was taking an eternity because of the silence between the two. The ship they were using had been devoured by the most awkward of silences from the moment they lost sight of Blizzard on Cybertron's surface.

Despite having grown quite close – well, a lot closer than they had once been – Magnus and Starlight found that whenever Blizzard wasn't around, things were usually pretty awkward for them both. Magnus felt like he had to be careful about the things he said, since he was not her real father, and Starlight felt much the same way, because of much the same reasons.

No attempts at conversation were made during the lengthy trip, although there had been a few moments of eye contact that ended with an interested stare in anything that was not in the other's direction.

When they landed on the far-off planet that was their destination, Starlight found herself too preoccupied with her surroundings to bother noticing that Magnus had become even more on-edge upon landing.

"Whoa! Where are we, Magnus?! This place is so cool!" The Autobot commander looked rather sheepish as he said,

"Sorry, Starlight. You're best off asking Twilight about this place, she's the expert. I can't even remember what it's called." The femme giggled, and, though there were still some aspects of strained conversation, she noticed that they weren't being half as awkward as usual.

"So, what's this thing Mom wanted to show me?" Again, the SIC seemed to become rather antsy before he replied.

"Follow me; there's a bit of a walk before we get there."

* * *

After a few hours of surgery, Ravenstrike was fully repaired and one-hundred percent sober. He was currently on his way to his creators' quarters – although he didn't understand _why_ he was, because he knew that the _safe_ thing to do would be to fly very, _very _far away from Chaar – and his mother's wrath.

His father, he wasn't too worried about. Cyclonus had always been quicker to anger, but he was also easier to calm down than Twilight. He'd get a scolding, maybe not even that, and that would be the end of it. His _mother_, however… The thought of the hits he'd be receiving from _her_ was enough to make him cringe on the spot.

And Lunar-Song, oh, poor Lunar-Song. She'd probably worried herself sick about him, as she was prone to doing. He'd have to make it up to her somehow, he just didn't know how yet.

The mech suddenly stopped, realising that he'd made it to his parents' quarters already. He gulped, praying that that nasty low grade energon Hook had just forced down his throat wouldn't be the last drink he'd ever get. With a sigh, he knocked on the door. He hoped his father answered - at least then he'd be spared for a few extra seconds.

Luck seemed to be on his side, as it was indeed his mech creator that opened the door. When Cyclonus saw that it was his son who'd knocked, his optics widened and then narrowed swiftly. The young mech grinned sheepishly, sending his father a small wave.

"_Heeeey_, Dad. Can I come in?" The purple mech sighed, stepping aside to allow his son entrance into the room.

"If you value your life it's probably not the wisest idea, but yes, come in." Ravenstrike gulped again, reluctantly stepping inside.

"Where's Mom?"

"In a meeting with Galvatron, she should be back soon."

"…She's really mad, isn't she?"

"Absolutely furious." The young mech gave a resigned sigh, dramatically collapsing on his creators' berth.

"Oh, I am so screwed." Cyclonus' silent nod of agreement was not reassuring in the slightest. Both mechs' bonds with Twilight alerted them to the fact that she was leaving the throne room now, and would soon be joining them. Ravenstrike cringed, trying – and failing – to mentally prepare himself for the oncoming storm of his femme creator's fury.

"Oh Primus I'm gonna die. Dad, just in case I don't get the chance to ever say it again, tell Lunar I love her!" Cyclonus just rolled his eyes, leaning against the wall with his arms folded across his chest-plates. A few minutes passed before the handle of the door was pushed down and the door opened with a hiss.

"Cyclonus, I-" Anything Twilight was about to say was lost from her mind as she caught sight of her son, practically cowering in front of her.

"H-Hey, Mom… How's things?" The femme said nothing, but her optics narrowed into dangerous fiery slits. She headed over to her desk first, placing the datapads she was carrying down on its surface before she slowly, quietly, approached her son…

Giving him a very hard slap round the head and nicking his previously-broken audio receptor in the process.

"Ow! Hey, I _just_ had that repaired, you know!" He regretted his remark as soon as it left his mouth, knowing that there was not one bot on this burnt-out planet that would save him now.

"Oh, _trust_ me, Raven, I _know_! I know because I was fragging _there_ when you stumbled into base, _holding_ the fragging thing in your _hand_!" He winced, the look she was giving him alone was enough to make him want to flee back to the med bay and get Hook to induce another recharge.

"Do you have _any_ idea how ashamed you've made me? When I received that transmission from Blaster I thought it was an Autobot prank! I thought you would never do something as _stupid_ as that! But, oh, was I _wrong_!" The mech almost squealed as Twilight's claw blades were freed from their casing, only for them to be put away a second later. His mother sighed wearily, turning away from him.

"I'm disappointed in you, Ravenstrike. Primus, you've come home drunk before, but _that_… that was just embarrassing." Those words cut even deeper than her furious rant had before. She'd never been disappointed in him before – or, at least, she'd never said it out loud bluntly like that before. Cyclonus sent him a look then, and contacted his son through their bond.

_~Give her some time to cool off. You know what she's like when she's angry.~_

_~Even so, she's right. I was way out of line. It won't happen again.~_

_~Good, but you'd better tell __**her **__that, not me.~_

"Hey, Mom?" She didn't turn to face him, but made a sound in the back of her throat that showed she had heard him. Her optics widened suddenly as her son wrapped his arms around her, hugging her.

"I'm so, _so_ sorry, Mom. What I did was stupid, and _totally_ wasn't worth the credits I got for doing it-" He cringed, he'd 'forgotten' to tell them about that part earlier. Quickly, so neither of his creators could interrupt him, he carried on.

"I'm sorry that I embarrassed you in front of the Autobots, and I'll do anything to make it up to you, I swear-" He was cut off by another clap around the head, again from his mother.

"_Alright_, I've heard enough. I forgive you, Raven. But I swear to Primus if you _ever_ do _anything_ like that again-"

"I won't!" She rolled her optics, but a ghost of a smile lingered on her face-plates.

"Good." She hugged him quickly before the door to her quarters suddenly burst open, causing the three Decepticons inside the room to turn to it in surprise.

"_Ravenstrike_!" It was Lunar-Song.

The dainty, once extremely shy femme didn't bother with any pleasantries; she simply walked straight up to the black and purple mech and slapped him harshly around the head.

"For the third time; _ow_!"

"Ravenstrike I have been worried _sick_ about you! You are an _idiot_!" Both Cyclonus and Twilight were stunned into silence. The white femme had definitely come out of her shell since she'd begun staying with them, but they'd never seen _this_ side of her before.

"Primus, Raven, I don't think I've ever been so angry in all my life!" Despite the fact that it probably wasn't wise to do so, the mech laughed.

"Lunar, I'm pretty sure that's because you've never been angry _at all_, in all your life." The little femme pouted, shoving her mech.

"Shut _up_, Raven."

* * *

None of Starlight's curiosity had been sated during the long walk to wherever the certain area of this unknown planet was. And, to make matters worse, there had been absolutely no conversation between her and Magnus since the few sentences they'd exchanged after setting foot on the planet.

They were currently deep underground, and it was too dark for the femme's liking. Her optics were on at maximum intensity, though it wasn't really necessary, and she jumped at any sight or sound that she didn't deem the norm for this place.

Suddenly, she tripped on a rock, and let out a rather embarrassing squeak as the ground rushed up to meet her face-plates.

But they never made contact. Ultra Magnus had caught her before she hit the floor. He helped her to her feet before giving her an awkward pat on the shoulder and continuing on. She thanked him quietly, and he replied with the usual "you're welcome". And that was all that was said.

Until they finally reached their destination, that is. They were in a very large cave, the centre of which was a pool of crystal clear water that shone brightly, despite there being no light source other than what was streaming through a few cracks in the cave's ceiling and the light of the two Cybertronians' optics.

"As pretty as it is, Magnus, I still don't get why we're here." The tall mech sighed, wishing more than ever that Blizzard had come with them now. He still didn't get why she'd made him do this alone.

"Just… Just look into the water and you'll see." Starlight frowned, leaning over the pool and staring into its depths.

"Uhh, Magnus? Are you sure we're in the right place? Nothing's happ-"

"**_Starlight_**?" Her talking ceased immediately and her breath hitched in her throat. She _knew_ that voice. _Eighteen years_ had passed and yet still, she knew that voice almost better than she knew her own.

"_Daddy_?" Her optics focused on what had, at first, seemed to be her reflection mirroring her on the water's surface. It was, in fact, her father, staring up at her from under the water.

"But… but you were _offlined_… Mom and I _buried_ you… _How_?"

_"Wherever you are, there is an unbreakable link between that place and the Well of All Sparks. I will not question it any further, for it has allowed me to see you again, and that is something for which I am very grateful."_ Starlight couldn't contain herself. She _knew_ she wasn't going mad, and this _wasn't_ a figment of her imagination.

"I can't believe I get to see you again, after all this time…" Suddenly, she threw herself into the water, shocked for a moment at how deep the pool actually was. She saw Ultra Magnus, worried as ever, rush up to the edge of the water, and she waved up at him, showing that she was fine.

"Starlight, what were you thinking?! You have no idea what side-effects this could have on you!" Silverblade yelled. The young femme couldn't help it, she laughed. After all these years of not seeing him or hearing his voice, even his scolding was welcomed. The femme jumped into her father's arms, crying.

"Hey, come on, this is no place for tears. There's enough water as it is." She giggled, rolling her deep purple optics before looking into his.

"You've grown into quite the amazing femme, Starlight, and I'm very, _very_ proud of you." Try as she might, she couldn't stop a few more tears from rolling down her cheek-plates.

"Thank you, Daddy." Silverblade looked up then, through the water, optics landing on Ultra Magnus.

"Well, you'd best be going." A look of hurt crossed her face, and she shook her head.

And suddenly, just like that, she was back to the six-year-old youngling Silverblade had fought to his last breath for back on Cybertron all those years ago. He didn't want to part with her so soon after being reunited, but he didn't know what being in the water would do to her, and so he shook his head straight back at her.

"You can come and visit me whenever you like with your mother, but you must leave for now. I do not want you in this water for too long, just in case anything should happen." Reluctantly, she nodded, unwrapping her arms from around his neck.

"I love you, Starlight." She smiled, kissing his cheek before beginning her climb out of the pool.

"I love you too, Daddy. I'll see you again soon." And with that, she was gone from his sights.

And when she looked back into the pool after clambering out of it – with help from Magnus – she saw that he was gone from her sights, too.

"Today is a day the humans call 'Father's Day'. Your mother chose today for me to bring you here because she knew how much Earth's cultures interest you, and thought it would be rather fitting." One last tear dripped from her chin, causing ripples to spread along the pool's clear surface.

There was a long silence, respectful and wistful.

And then Magnus broke it, clearing his throat. He was stood straight to attention with his hands behind his back, as if it was Optimus Prime stood in front of him, not the young femme he'd accompanied to the planet.

"Listen, Starlight… I know I'm not your father. And of course, you aren't my daughter. But, I care for you as if you are my daughter. So, I guess I just want you to know that, if you… If you ever need someone - if you ever need _me_… I'll always be there for you, okay?" He winced, wondering whether that had been far too cheesy and uncalled for. His apprehensions only grew when she did not say anything for a good while. He was about to speak up again when she suddenly threw herself at him and hugged him.

"Shut up, you big idiot. We may not share blood but you're just as much my dad as he is, in my optics. Now come on, let's go home. I'm soaked and you're not much better either now." Magnus was at a loss for words, he didn't know what to say.

So he chose to say nothing, and simply returned the young femme's embrace with a small smile.

'_Thank you, Starlight.'_

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**You know me, if the ending isn't cheesy or a crappy cliffhanger then it isn't an ending at all! Well, I hope you liked it!**

******Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers or any of the characters I use in this story except for Twilight, Ravenstrike and Lunar-Song, Blizzard, Starlight and Silverblade.**


	6. Ill-Kept Secrets

**Hey! Bet you didn't expect an update this soon after the last one, did you? Well, this chapter goes back into the War Machine timeline, and it takes place at some point between chapters 78 and 79. I've had this one planned for a while now, but I have just recently been inspired to write it properly as I felt like writing something baby-related because my mum's currently in labour (and I'm panicking like a little girl =D)! Aaaaaanyway, thank you very much to _TheSuperiorVision_ and _TheLoveDov_ for reviewing! Alright then, on with the story!**

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Twilight entered her quarters, Ravenstrike fast in recharge in her arms. The madness that had practically_ become_ the femme's life since being summoned to Galvatron's army hadn't let up at all with the arrival of her sparkling. In fact, it had continued on in full swing – and it seemed that Primus believed there was not a better way for it to do so than with the return of Twilight's old 'brother', Starscream.

The femme sighed, sitting on the edge of her berth and holding her head in her hand as her processor-ache started up again. Starscream had decided to possess Scourge this time – no doubt viewing Cyclonus as a lost cause, considering what had happened the time before – and the 'two' of them had succeeded in reviving Unicron – or, rather, what was left of him - in an attempt to get Starscream's body back.

The ordeal only became more confusing when the Autobots got involved, but, amidst the massive fire fight, Starscream had managed to regain a fully-functioning frame – in other words, he was online again – and, in a fashion true to his old self, he left Unicron to once again be offlined by the Autobots.

Of course, at the very mention of Starscream, Cyclonus had forbidden his mate to get involved, and, despite all of her protests, she had been holed up within the base, with no-one but Ravenstrike for company.

She knew her mate was only doing it to protect her and their sparkling, but still, she found herself frustrated that he couldn't place a little more faith in her. Although, one of them would have had to stay behind to look after Ravenstrike anyway, and Twilight would have been lying if she said she'd have preferred it to have been Cyclonus' job. She'd only have worried about them all day if she was the one who had been fighting with Starscream.

Standing, her sparkling still cradled close to her chest, Twilight gazed out of the window, watching attentively for any sign of the group of Decepticons' return.

_~We're returning to base now, love. I shouldn't be long.~_

_**~Good. I assume everything's alright with Scourge now?~ **_Though she'd never, _ever _admit it, Twilight had become rather fond of the annoying mech.

_~Galvatron still wants him offline, but I'm sure I can persuade him to reconsider his judgement.~_

_**~Yes, hopefully you can.~ **_Twilight raised an optic ridge, noting that her mate sounded quite… troubled, all of a sudden.

_**~Is everything alright, Cyclonus?~ **_She heard him sigh, and there was a long pause before he continued.

_~It's… It's about Starscream.~_ The femme tensed, and, though she tried her hardest not to let it show, she couldn't stop an ounce of worry from seeping through their bond.

_**~What about him?~ **_Twilight was dreading what her sparkmate was about to say next.

_~…I saw him, before we retreated. Galvatron's shot seemed to hit him straight in the spark, yet he was still stumbling about minutes after the shot hit.~ _The black and red femme frowned, shifting Ravenstrike into the crook of her other arm and holding him a little more tightly.

_**~Perhaps he's simply turned into a ghost again.~**_ Cyclonus' spark panged. Twilight had said the words with so much conviction; he could tell she wanted to believe that what she said was true. When he spoke next, he sent a wave of calm through their bond, trying to reassure her.

_~Ghost don't tumble out of control through space, love.~ _Twilight sighed. As much as she hated it, Cyclonus was right.

_**~So, he's still online, then.~**_ There was no spoken response from her mech's end of the bond, only a slight, comforting squeeze. She sighed once more, that Unicron-spawned processor-ache pulsing through her head. She didn't speak of Starscream again; she only returned her mate's loving gesture and said,

_**~I'm going to try and get some recharge, so I can't promise I'll be awake when you get back.~**_

_~Don't worry about that, just get some rest. I'll be joining you as soon as I can.~_

_**~You'd better be.~ **_With a small smile, she let the conversation's grasp on her spark slip, focusing on her bond with her son instead. He was still recharging – hopefully things would stay that way until the morning. She lay down on her berth, Ravenstrike tucked carefully beneath her arm. The little mech had his own berth now, but Twilight preferred having him close to her – especially because of the news that Starscream was now online again.

An hour or two later, the femme had her back to the door of her quarters, and she was just about to drift into recharge when she heard said door hiss as it opened. She rolled over to face her sparkmate.

"You got home a lot sooner than I expected." However, as her optics focused, she saw that it was not her sparkmate who had entered their quarters.

It was Starscream.

Quick as a flash, the femme shot upright, standing in front of her berth and assuming a protective stance in front of her sparkling. Her claw blades flung out of their casing with a ring that was rather loud, due to the silence in the room. Other defensive routines kicked in, her mask and visor sliding into place on her face-plates. Silence remained in the room for a long while as the two stared each-other down, before Twilight finally spoke.

"Leave. _Now_." Her voice was not reminiscent of a growl or angry snarl; it was calm and collected, though it had a sharp, icy undertone to it.

"…S-Sister… I-"

"Don't you dare _'Sister'_ me! I have half a mind to rip your spark out where you stand for what you did to Cyclonus and I!"

"Sister, I mean no harm, I swear-"

"I'll be damned if I've heard anything today that's as big a pile of scrap as that!" The jet sighed, still standing by the door.

"Didn't you hear me, Starscream? I said, _leave_." He folded his arms across his chest-plating, determined to be the stubborn Seeker Twilight had always known him to be.

"Hear me out, and then I'll be gone." Her optics remained harsh, burning into his.

"Why on Cybertron should I bother to listen to _anything_ you have to say?" He opened his mouth to answer, and then he noticed something rather odd about the way the femme was behaving.

"Why are you speaking in such a hushed tone? And what are you hiding behind you?" His suspicions that she was hiding something were confirmed when she turned rigid, her gaze becoming even colder. She didn't answer his questions, so he took a few steps forward. In response, she stepped back, the backs of her legs leaning against the berth now.

"Sister, step aside or I'll have to make you."

"Yes, because that definitely sounds like you mean no harm." He scowled, and she could tell he was already losing his patience with her. The Seeker abandoned the topic of what was hidden behind her back for a moment – but only for a moment.

"Sister I swear to you, I did not come here for revenge-"

"Of course you didn't, there is little for _you _to be vengeful for. _I_ should be the one getting _my_ revenge right now." Starscream hated the way she had managed to gain control of the situation so quickly, despite having been furious when she first saw him. But he was not lying to her when he said that he had not come here to bring harm.

"But you aren't. Why is that?" Again, she did not answer. He cocked his head to the side, trying, in vain, to see what it was that she was hiding. He sighed, opening his mouth to speak, but his 'sister' cut him off.

"If you truly do not wish to fight, what _is_ your reason for coming here, Starscream?" He rolled his optics, still trying to look at what she had behind her back.

"Why do you _think_ I came here, Twilight?! Because I felt terrible about what I put you through!" The femme couldn't help it; she laughed.

"You are the most traitorous, deceitful bot I know, do you_ really_ think I'm going to believe that?!" Even whilst yelling at him, her voice was somewhat hushed.

"I've only just gotten a proper body back, do _you_ really think that I'd show up here for a fight?! You'd offline me straight away, and my efforts would go to waste!" She simply scoffed, but, when she thought about it, she realised he was right.

In a fair fight – if Starscream would ever participate in one of those – Twilight was clearly the better warrior. She could offline him right now if she wanted to – and part of her did – and the body bestowed upon him by Unicron would be nothing more than scrap metal. So he certainly hadn't come here for the same purpose as his last 'visit'.

Even so, the femme did not trust him. After what he had done to her when they last met, and after what had happened to Thundercracker and Skywarp… It was obvious to them both why she wouldn't be placing her faith in him again anytime soon.

Still, she did not try to strike him down. Part of her wanted to, she couldn't deny that, but she was afraid that Ravenstrike would wake up – or get injured. And _that_ was something she would _not _let happen.

"Sister, I beg you, please, just _listen_ to me." She raised an optic ridge, noticing the strained hurt in his voice, and the pleading within his optics. Despite everything that had changed between them, Twilight found that she could still read him like an unlocked datapad, once his defences were brought down ever-so-slightly.

He had meant it when he said that he felt terrible about what he had done.

The Decepticon warrior took a single, cautious step away from her recharging son, visor and mask receding to show her face-plates. She sighed wearily, her anger drifting from her expression.

"I will _never_ forgive you for what you did to Thundercracker and Skywarp. But…What's done is done, and there's no use crying over energon that has long been spilt. If you have come here to make amends for what you did, then I appreciate it, but I don't want to hear your apologies. I am rather… preoccupied, at the moment." The Seeker raised his optic ridges, craning his neck to try and see over her shoulder.

"What, preoccupied with whatever's behind your back?" When she stepped back towards whatever she was hiding, a protective look flashing for only an instant across her face-plates, Starscream sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Come _on_, Sister. I believe we just established that I mean you no harm, did we not? So would you _please_ let me see what you've been hiding the whole time I've been here?" Slowly, reluctantly, Twilight took a step to the right, revealing her son to the Seeker stood before her. The look of shock upon Starscream's face was almost comical as he caught sight of the little mech recharging on the berth that was giant compared to him.

"Holy _frag_… Primus, Sister… is he… he's _yours_, isn't he?" The femme rolled her optics, sarcasm lacing her tone when she answered.

"_No_, Starscream, he's _Galvatron's_." He sent her a look that showed he didn't appreciate the quip.

"So… You and Cyclonus… _Wow_." Once again, Twilight's optics met the heavens. She sat down on her berth, picking her sparkling up and motioning for Starscream to sit with her. He obliged, though he was surprised at the offer.

He was even more stunned when the femme who he'd once been very close to held her sparkling out to him, asking if he'd like to hold the mech. He was hesitant, having never handled a sparkling before, but once again, he took her up on her offer.

"I thought you said you didn't trust me." She shook her head, laughing quietly at him. It was a strange sound, hardly reminiscent of the quiet giggle that used to come from her vocaliser when he'd last heard her properly laugh. Her amusement sounded bitter, though, above all else, she sounded weary.

"I didn't say that at all – although it's true. But there's no need for me to be worried – if you offlined my sparkling I would rip you limb from limb the moment you did, and you know it." He chuckled, and wasn't too surprised to realise that his laughter sounded a lot like hers had; bitter… and weary.

There was a long moment of silence as Starscream took a good look at his 'sister's' son, observing that he very much looked like his father, frame-wise. Suddenly, Twilight spoke again, though her voice was a mere whisper, quiet even despite the silence that reigned in the room.

"Besides, as much as I think you're a revolting piece of slag, Ravenstrike deserves to know that – whilst he will not remember this in later years – he met his 'uncle' Starscream once." The former Decepticon second-in-command stared at the femme, finding it hard to put his thoughts into words.

"...You still think of me as a brother?" She cringed, she'd probably said too much now. Sighing, she tried to work her way around the question without sticking her foot any deeper into the slag pile.

"As much as I wish to forget your existence as you are now; I will never forget who you once were. You were my brother all those years ago, Starscream, and no matter how much you've changed, you still are today. I simply wish you would give up your foolish dreams – you used to be a lot more tolerable." He rolled his crimson optics, trying to brush off the fact that her words had affected him deeply.

"Thanks." He said sarcastically, shoving her lightly. She shoved him back, though not as hard as she would usually have done, considering he was holding her sparkling.

There was a rather awkward silence then, and it lasted a long while, until the ex-second-in-command suddenly said,

"I'm sure he'll be a great flier." Twilight smiled, nodding.

"Yes, he certainly will be." Just after she spoke, her optics adopted a vacant look, as if her mind was elsewhere. Once she had returned to the real world, she suddenly stood up and spoke.

"I think you'd better get going. The troops are nearly here, and I'd imagine your revival will be the most ill-kept secret in history." Starscream laughed; she was probably right. He handed little Ravenstrike back to his creator and stood in front of them.

There was another strained pause.

He wanted to apologise, to at least _try_ and tell her how awful he felt for what he did, but she'd made it clear that she wouldn't let him do anything of the sort. So, he settled for awkwardly laying a hand on her shoulder, and trying to think of something to say. He soon found that he didn't have to, however, as Twilight spoke first, suddenly, and rather unexpectedly embracing the Seeker after placing her creation on his own berth.

"Stay safe, stay alert, and for frag's sake you imbecile, stay out of trouble, okay? I've lost too many brothers for one lifetime." To say that Starscream was stunned beyond words would be an understatement. Hadn't she just said she hated him? Primus, he would never understand this femme. He decided that her sparkling had made her go soft, and he left it at that, refusing to dwell on it any longer.

"I'll be fine, Sister… thank you." She simply shook her head, stepping away from him to stand beside her sparkling, who still hadn't stirred.

"Goodbye, Starscream."

"Yes, goodbye." He stepped out of the door, and, after a moment's deliberation, he threw one last word over his shoulder before he disappeared, not to return for Primus knew how long.

"…Congratulations."

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**And another congratulations is in order, as my baby sister has just been born in the time it took me to edit this! And I'm still panicking for some reason! Ah well, I'll calm down eventually. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!**

**********Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers or any of the characters I use in this story except for Twilight and Ravenstrike.**


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